Exhaustion slammed into me, hollowing me out in a blink. Someone on my left wobbled, making the surface I stood on tilt. I involuntarily jerked to catch myself, only for agony to run up my arm from my hand still pinned to Cayden, who was thankfully no longer dancing.
The pain jerked me awake, and the world came into sharp focus. The dragon still perched on my shoulder. The women were all crammed together in what must be Xan’s apartment, though I couldn’t see over their heads, and I must be standing on his bed.
A woman screamed while someone sobbed.
“Quinn.” Everly squeezed me. “Where did you take us?”
Heat burned my cheeks. Of all the places I could’ve taken us… of course my magic dragged me here. “We’re in Xan’s, er, the Architect’s apartment. I think I’m facing the window, so the exit’s on our left. The second door.”
A door banged open, making me flinch. Agony shot through my hand again. I hadn’t noticed Cayden drawing runes, but his dark-green magic glowed in my peripheral vision.
“Everly,” Cayden said. “On three, can you please pull the stick out of us?”
Voices rose as women filed out of the room. The bed bounced, making me wobble more, and tears streamed down my face. Without warning, Everly reached forward, gripped the stick, and pulled.
Cayden let out a painful yelp. “That works, too.”
Agony flared white, then Cayden’s magic dulled it—only for exhaustion to crash over me again. I leaned into my friend and closed my eyes. Cayden didn’t release my hand, but he put his free arm around me and pulled me close.
“I’m here. We’re together,” he murmured.
Shouts from the hall sharpened. The moment between Cayden and me shattered. Everly hopped off the bed. “I’ll go.”
The noise outside grew louder, but Cayden tilted my chin back. “Look at me, Sleeping Beauty. Don’t drift yet.”
I managed to pry a single, indignant eye open while my insides fluttered. He’d actually gone back to read my old fairy tales. He remembered. He chose this for me.
“I know you’re tired, but you can’t sleep yet.” Cayden brushed my lips with his. “Did Xan teach you how to eat power to stay awake?”
I shook my head.
“Focus.” Cayden pinched my waist. “You’re drained, but if I managed to share magic with Xan, I can do it with you.” He glanced toward the door. “You need to stay awake a little longer.”
He bent my arm, and pain from my injuries radiated, jerking me awake again.
“You did that on purpose,” I hissed.
“I did.” He laced our fingers together.
The air shifted. Not the distant breeze of the world, but Cayden, his warmth sinking straight into my bones, making my skin prickle with him.
Cayden kissed the side of my head. “Sharing power isn’t supposed to be easy. It nearly broke me with Xan. But with you”—he squeezed my hand—“it’s already there. Now eat some of my magic. It’s not healthy. It won’t last, but Xan has enforcers on his building. Confused enforcers, suddenly faced with all the women you teleported here. Everly won’t be enough. They need you.”
The weight of today settled on my shoulders. The dragon yawned. I wasn’t done. Cayden was right. I could pass out later.
“I don’t know how to eat your magic,” I said.
Cayden sighed. “The Architect’s bloody useless. It’s just like turning on a cauldron, except you turn yourself on.”
I blinked, half-thinking he meant something else, then realized I was an idiot. Cayden wanted me to feed myself magic, like I did the cauldrons.
Exhaustion was not doing great things for my thought process.
I didn’t close my eyes, but I let the world go out of focus as I imagined my tongue was a light. Sparkles danced out of my mouth. Reflex took over, and I bit down. “Ow.”
Cayden’s chest rumbled with laughter, even if he refused to let it escape his lips. “Very close. You can’t think of a body part. Remember, magic is imagination and will.”
I closed my eyes this time, and instead of trying to eat something, I imagined magic absorbing into my skin and sinking into my bloodstream. Immediately, the fatigue eased, and my mind sharpened. I blinked rapidly, almost reliving the last few minutes.
